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Cauldron  By  cover art

Cauldron

By: Jack McDevitt
Narrated by: Khristine Hvam
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Publisher's summary

The year is 2255. The academy that trained the starfarers is long gone and veteran star pilot Priscilla "Hutch" Hutchins spends her retirement supporting fund-raising efforts for The Prometheus Foundation, a privately funded organization devoted to deep space exploration.

But when a young physicist unveils an efficient star drive capable of reaching the core of the galaxy, Hutch finds herself back in the deepest reaches of space, and on the verge of discovering the origins of the deadly Omega clouds that continue to haunt her.

©2007 Jack McDevitt (P)2009 Audible, Inc.

What listeners say about Cauldron

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    93
  • 4 Stars
    79
  • 3 Stars
    34
  • 2 Stars
    5
  • 1 Stars
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Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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    98
  • 4 Stars
    42
  • 3 Stars
    12
  • 2 Stars
    4
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    1
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    71
  • 4 Stars
    53
  • 3 Stars
    25
  • 2 Stars
    8
  • 1 Stars
    1

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Not the return to the clouds I expect

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

If you've read the earlier books in the series you might as well read this one. However I did not like the answers to the questions this book explorers. So I'd recommend it if you really wanted to but it's not the best in the series.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

"Really" Of all the answers to Omega Clouds, what are they, what makes them, etc. and this is all you could come up with?

What about Khristine Hvam’s performance did you like?

She is excellent. She was the reason I pressed on finishing the book.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

No.

Any additional comments?

It was nice to have Hutch up front and center in this one.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

This is the end of the Academy Series for me

What would have made Cauldron better?

There was little in the book to keep my attention. I kept waiting for it to get better and in the end, it was disappointing. It's like he had to write another in the series but really wasn't into it. I have enjoyed the series up to this point but I won't be looking for any more books in this series.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

bad ending to a bad series stop at book 2 trust me

narrator was the only thing that made me finish the series

brutal Jack Mcdevitt can't keep track of his own series opens up plot windows then ignores them later in the series

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

Boooooring

I've listened to a few sci-fi books and this one is by far the most uninteresting book. They go to strange new worlds, but they do not come to life. The narrator also makes it very difficult to differentiate between characters. The characters themselves don't have much of a personality either. I have not read the other books in the series, so I cannot judge the author, but this book is a flop.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Not his best but still good.

There was a lot touched on in this book like most of his books in the academy series. I only wish he would have done more with each location as they traveled. They all deserve to be their own books.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great story

Another great book in the series. Lots of adventure, ties up some of the long standing mysteries of the series.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Unlistenable narration

I love this series and the adventures of Hutch. But the narration is so god awful I had to download the book and read it.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Mediocre

In all the book was ok but not great. I agree with the other reviews that mentions too much time was spent on the engine. He had a multitude of opportunities to enhance the story but focused on meaningless aspects that didn’t need to take up half the book. After about 7 hours of listening the book finally started to be entertaining.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

It's Hutch!

Big fan of the series, really cool to hear a voice to Hutch's character often all the books. reader sounded great

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great Read

What made the experience of listening to Cauldron the most enjoyable?

I enjoyed what appears to be the end of the series book. It was fast paced and unlike one review I read did not leave any unanswered questions.

What does Khristine Hvam bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Great reader.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Some places laughed

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